English Assignment #1, A Life Lesson

A Life Lesson

I’ve watched how some people act; I’ve watched how they treat people, I’ve heard their words. People have a tendency to be blunt and rude right to someone’s face. They believe just because we are not in kindergarten anymore, just because we are "adults", name-calling or verbal abuse does not sting like it used to, (or at least it shouldn’t) and if it does then we need to grow up. Incidentally, it more often than not hurts more now. It hurts more because we have developed into the person we have chosen to be. We want to be liked for the person we are, and when someone of equal, or seeming to be equal, maturity knocks us down a peg, we take it as a personal attack to our character.

It breaks my heart to watch someone be treated with dishonor and disrespect. It breaks my heart to know that there are people out there who don’t care or consider a person’s feelings. Why have they not grasped the concept that it is not okay to treat people unkindly? Are they not aware that the old saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me" is false? Sadly, not everyone has the confidence and the affirmation that they are perfectly and wonderfully made, and the only way a person will ever know this is if someone reaches out to them and shows them the love and kindness they deserve.

I can say all of this with complete confidence because I have been there. I’ve felt the venom of harsh words and the sting of being the punch line of a joke. I’ve spent my share of nights crying and questioning my worth. I’ve spent fifth grade to tenth grade wondering why I was the one no one liked. I will never be the reason for someone to experience that pain.

The truth is we are all perfectly imperfect. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. We are the same but different; that’s what makes us so unique! No one was made a copy, no one was made identical. Since this is absolute truth, I feel no entitlement to ever tear someone down because of who they are, I have no reason to. I only feel entitled to make a priority to share love and kindness. I’ve learned from experience.